one of the reasons i’ve wanted to leave trinidad is to give my daughters greater opportunities, but of late, it seems that the rights of women are being eroded more and more with each passing day. i remember seeing this article a couple weeks ago and sighing heavily but this latest statement affects the international community as well. if you don’t go to the link, here is the crux of the matter:

“The American delegation joined with Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Libya and others in efforts to delete a phrase – included in previously agreed-upon UN statements dating back a decade – that calls on countries to condemn violence against women and “refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration” to avoid the obligation to stop the violence.

It joined objections to a passage about women in armed conflict, aligning itself with fundamentalist regimes in trying to change a reference to “forced pregnancy” – listed along with murder, rape, systematic rape and sexual slavery as by-products of war and societies emerging from conflict. The term “forced pregnancy” is seen by some anti-abortion groups as a pretext for promoting abortion.

“I don’t think we’re aligning ourselves with countries who have bad records on human rights,” said Ellen Sauerbrey, a former Republican candidate for Maryland governor and President George W. Bush’s chief representative to the commission.”

it goes on but you’ll have to read it for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

in my other reading, i came across a tidbit about excessive polictical correctness in a LA Times review of The Language Police (you may need to subscribe, but it’s free)